Private Rented Sector Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
Paula Barker
Main Page: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)Department Debates - View all Paula Barker's debates with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
(4 years, 1 month ago)
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Tulip Siddiq
I will come to the link between local housing allowance rents and rental growth later, but I thoroughly agree with my right hon. Friend that because the link has been broken, people are put at risk of eviction and eventually homelessness. He will know that more than ever, representing a London constituency, where there are serious problems with overcrowding—I know his constituency well.
We have seen a dramatic growth in rents in the last decade. The average private rent is an astonishing £4,500 more than it was in 2010. That is how much it has accelerated in the last 10 years and here are some of the results. Some 30% of tenants now struggle to pay rent; over a quarter of London renters spend more than half their wages on rent alone; one in three older renters lives in poverty after rent has been paid; and it is no wonder that 60% of renting families say they are just one pay cheque away from losing their home.
Paula Barker (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab)
On that point, over the past week, I have been contacted by many constituents with coronavirus. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is essential for the Government to step in and ensure that those people are looked after, as has been done in other countries?